Gift of Life
by sarahbearsweet
Summary: The Cullens try to give Renesmee as normal a life possible, sending her to live with Charlie. Renesmee's stopped growing, and it's time to go back home. There's just one problem. Jacob Black doesn't exist in her head anymore. Can he conjure her memory?
1. Chapter 1

_Gift of Life_

Chapter 1 - Guilty Celebration

Seven syllables. Renesmee Carlie Cullen. Six if you used the shortened version of my peculiar name. 'Nessie'. Like the Loch Ness Monster. Deep and dark and murky. A mystery. But I wasn't in any way dark and murky, though for my age I seemed a bit _too_ deep. And then, many of the aspects my life remained unexplained and difficult to fathom on my part.

The questions asked in the classroom were all very simple and easy to answer. Unfortunately, mine, were not. Why was I the same height as last year? And my photo ID card almost identical to that of last springs? It seemed I'd stopped growing, and for some reason Dad had taken down the height chart in the hall. The same chart he'd so studiously taken to examining year after year, reveling in my rapid growth. The rate at which I grew was _also_ mind-boggling, to say the least.

Inch after inch, I rose in stature, gaining at least four or more in a month or even less. My hair grew at such a tremendous rate that mother never bothered to take me to the hair salon. Too expensive, and I never _did _like those silly fru fru hairstyles all the girls and women sauntered around with. I always thought that people would want their hair to be _out _of their faces, but apparently I'd been mistaken. Almost every person I looked at had somehow hidden away either their right or left eye beneath a stretch of hair. Was that supposed to make a statement? It obviously had some meaning, though unbeknownst altogether to the likes of _me_.

So I just kept my hair simple; No silly bangs, side, or not. It felt good to rant about something as unimportant and flimsy as the way you keep your hair. Made it seem like I had something normal to think about. But I digress, the real problem wasn't really my hair, but the growing suspicion that my parents were hiding something from me.

Charlie and Renee were divorced. I'd never held it against them like most kids with separating parents. If you love someone, you love them. If you don't, you don't. It didn't make _sense_ to force two people to put on a show just to ease your own pain. Kids these days were so selfish. Anyhow, the two had never really cleared up any of my probing searches, wether they were in love, or loathe. For example, when I'd asked why I had a different last name than the two of them, they'd answered slowly, "Just a.. minor detail honey, it doesn't mean anything. Don't think about it."

'Don't think about it" ?? How could I _abstain_ from pondering about what could possibly be the reason for completely un-similar last names amongst _family_? I only had the basics really.

I woke up in a hospital bed around the age of 15, they said. _They_, being the doctors and medical staff, of course. I was told that I was in a car crash - a reasonable enough explanation - , that I had suffered a concussion, and my growth hormones may have unbalanced themselves, possibly causing them to overreact, and take effect on my growth rate. It was a rather frail explanation compared to the_ pages_ long saga of events I had expected, but nevertheless, had proved true.

And so today was my seventeenth birthday. A day of celebration, a day of hugs, and presents wrapped in bright colored paper. Another thing about myself; I'd never had a birthday party before. It was the norm with the _others_, as I so frequently called them. The 'normal' ones. For some reason Charlie and Renee didn't _want_ people seeing me before I turned sixteen, and had begun attending the local high school amongst other children my age. I couldn't see why, but didn't press for information; it was easy to see I wasn't going to get any. Though there were never any parties, mom and dad always put up a fuss with cakes, fizzy drinks, and gifts of all shapes and sizes. I hated the food and drink as always, but the presents never ceased to amuse me. At least for a week or so. Then, I would shove them back into the recesses of my closet, the game system or whatnot no longer of use to me. I went downstairs waiting for the hugs and squeals to ensue on mom's part, a warm,"Happy Birthday, kid.", from dad. Mom always visited on holidays, and she was absolutely enraptured with what I had to say if I called. Unless of course, I had another one of my 'questions'. That was _not_ the case this time. Mom hung back on the couch, and too quickly to seem normal, Dad busied himself in the kitchen, once the sound of my footsteps announced my arrival.

"Well!" I felt my brow furrow in confusion. "Isn't _this_, a nice reception?"

No reply.

"Er...Hello? Am I invisible here, or what?"

Finally, Mom spoke up. "Um..Sweetheart? Your.." she coughed nervously, "Father. And I. We have something to tell you..."

Good old mom, always succinct and to the point, whereas Charlie preferred burying bad and awkward news in a good long conversation completely of topic.

I now watched my mother wring her delicate hands, waiting for her to continue. "Yes...?" Realization hit, and I sighed. "Is this about the 'don't touch anyone' thing? I swear, I haven't made contact with anyone but you guys. Though you could explain _why_ I've been required to act incredibly anti-social.."

Again with the coughing and hand wringing. "Oh no, it isn't that.." She artfully dodged my question. "It's about....Well. About your growth rate. And appearance...And us. And your parents."

All those 'ands'. _How ungrammatical_, I'd secretly chided to myself. The height/growth regiment didn't surprise me, we had _that _talk every year. Keeping my condition secret and all that. Appearance fit into the same subject matter of course, since growing alters your looks. Ninth grade AP Science. But it caught my attention how she classified "us" and "your parents", into two different categories. And of course, it was exactly that subject on which my 'us' were so bravely encroaching on.

_This_ was it, though at the time, I didn't know it. The conversation that had already been delayed a year, letting my suspicions sink in just a little further. The fact that for the past five years, and not _seventeen_, I had been living a lie. A gift so precariously wrapped in yards of deceptive gauze, and taped up tight. One that had been hidden away from my knowing for so long. That couldn't wait any longer. Seemingly much too dangerous to unwrap at a younger age..

The gift of life. _My _life.

**A.N:** **Tell me what you guys think of this story, please! And if I should continue it or not. Wrote this on a whim, and I can assure you I have plenty of ideas for this one, if you'd like me to extend it further. All critique is welcome. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Phone Etiquette

I waited patiently for my mother to continue. But instead she just stood there, half hunched over as though she were trying to protect herself from some unseen force. It looked like she was concentrating very hard, trying to find the right words..But for what, I didn't know.

"Yes? I'm listening." I prompted.

When I spoke, she cringed away from my voice, More silence. The curiosity was starting to eat at me, but I didn't want to appear impatient. Although at that point, I wasn't completely sure she was going to continue at all. Finally, Renee exhaled shakily, and responded.

"Maybe you should take a seat on the couch, Sweetheart..This could take a lot of explaining."

I did as I was told, and sat down on the sofa, sinking luxuriously into the worn cushions. I doubted what Renee had to say would upset me, seeing as what she considered "horrible", was really only mediocre in my book. She probably broke my radio somehow while vacuuming or something. I wondered how many times she would apologize before she realized I could just get a new radio.. After the news was broken though, I could only _wish_ that that had been the case.

"We aren't your parents, Renesmee." The words fell awkwardly from her mouth, lingering in the stagnant morning air. Charlie sneaked out of the room then, an air of intense nervousness about him, but I barely noticed.

At first I thought I'd heard her incorrectly. "........ I'm sorry... could you repeat that?"

Renee slid over next to me on the couch and stared into my eyes, apology and desperation oozing out of her every pore. "Nessie, honey...I'm not your mother. And Charlie...he isn't your father." She began fretting again, and dropped my gaze quickly. "...Please try to understand. We didn't want to upset you like this, but there are things that cannot be held off any longer. We didn't have a choice.."

This time I put the pieces together, though slowly, like a broken down computer forced to run once more, sixty years later from when it first powered up. The inner workings of my mind whirred furiously, searching for any sign of recollection that either Renee or Charlie had given off some sort of sign. Some sort of hint that we weren't in fact related. My heart froze when I realized that there were many. Each and every day I saw the proof, but had never interpreted it like this. The light on the matter had never truly been shed, thin rays dancing about, gathering slowly, only revealing parts of the haphazard whole that had suddenly been unveiled to me. I saw the tension growing slowly between my 'parents' and I, not seeing until now that the 'tension' was really guilt.

Over the past two years these happenings had become more prominent, until very recently the number of signals hovered around six to ten. I was so _stupid_...How could I not have seen this? And more importantly, how could they have _lied_ to me? I knew Charlie could keep secrets if he didn't think about them, and Renee easily could keep quiet about things...But for sixteen _years_? Was it even _possible_ that they'd had this information brewing in they're heads for that long, and never spoken of it? I highly doubted it. And in that, how could they _not_ be my parents...?

"You're not......my parents?" I spoke, my voice sounding dead to my own ears.

My had-been mother straightened out, as if she thought the storm was over before it had even begun. "No...I'm afraid we're not."

Confusion and nausea swirled uncomfortably through my head. I grasped at anything to clear my muddled head, and after a moment of desperation, words finally formed on my lips. " So our last names are different... for a reason. Because we aren't related."

"Not exactly." What was _that_ supposed to mean?

I spoke as though I were a robot, my voice wiped clean of all emotion. I wanted it to stop. But I kept on talking, all feeling gone, not only from my voice, but from my very being as well. But I _was_ feeling something. Numb. The pain of three thousand needles, the dementia of ten million anesthetics...Stolen away my precious senses, so developed, so attuned to perceive every single movement, sound, texture...Gone. What was wrong with me? My brain, usually so filled to the brim with information, screamed for data. I needed statistics. I _needed_ facts; cold and hard, the absolute truth. And I needed them _now_. So many questions were already hurling themselves about, burning on my tongue. My mouth disengaged and I found them escaping into the uncomfortable silence that had formed between us.

"Are my parents alive? Was I put up for adoption because there was no other choice, or was I abandoned? Why didn't you ever _tell_ me I was adopted? Did you think I wasn't _strong_ enough? Am I just a foster child? And if I am, are you giving me back now?" and then the most hurtful realization I'd had thus far, "Are you.. giving me away because you don't _want_ me anymore?"

She struggled to answer all of my demanding inquiries all at once. "Yes, your parents are alive, and you were never put up for adoption. You were handed directly over to us, your mother is my daughter....I'm..I'm your grandmother. Though honestly, I think I'm a bit young for the title." She laughed nervously, but the only sound I could hear was a dull ringing in my ears.

My grandmother? Yes..I supposed that made a _bit_ of sense, and I was grateful for explanation, but....Why on Earth would I be banished to live with my Grandparents? Was I a menace to my _real_ parents? Or was there simply not enough money? Anything was possible; perhaps, I was a love child. I looked at Renee's face again, studying the creases and subtle wrinkles in her skin, seeing her aged complexion in a whole new light. Yes, I was grateful for the explanation, but it wasn't nearly enough. The information my brain craved was given in small, and it roared for more. I could hardly stand it. _Why_ was I never satisfied with what I got?

The facts were that I'd lived with my grandparents all my life, believing fully as they portrayed a mothers love, a fathers guidance, when truly it was not. And as hard as it was to accept that, I did. In a way, I'd seen it coming. And I _had_ seen the possibility....I just chose to think that whatever was up with Charlie and Renee would blow over, and then everything would be back to normal. Or close to it. I'd been thinking this for two years now..

Still, what could possibly force me into the care of my _grandparents_? When childrens' parents died, weren't they sent to their aunts or uncles first? You know, because the younger they're new guardians were, the longer they would live with them. According to how long these guardians _lived_ of course. Perhaps I wasn't sent to anyone else because there _wasn't_ anyone else. Were the relatives here all I had? But Renee'd said my parents were _alive_, hadn't she?

"But......why?" I managed to croak.

Renee smiled at me, not a smile of happiness, but of acute sympathy, and spoke in a very soft voice, as though if she were any louder she would break. In a way, that made it worse. "Nessie dear, you know about your growing condition, correct?"

"Yeah..." I felt my eyebrows pull together. It was as if my body and mind were detached from each other, and yet I was still conscience of my actions. "But what does that have to do with– Oh. _Oh_. I see."

"You..._see_?" Renee was apprehensious now.

"They didn't want me because of my _abnormality_? It weirded them out that I grew so fast?" That seemed a bit hypocritical, since obviously I'd have to have gotten this "condition" from _somewhere_ right?

"In a way. They told us that they were giving you to us so that you could have a normal life..Because they were different as well. " I could see this was something she didn't want to talk about. _Too bad_, I thought to myself defiantly. This was more my business than hers anyway.

"Different?" My voice was definitely not dead now. I now spoke, my voice saturated thick with annoyance. "And how were they, _different,_ may I ask? Since until now, I _obviously_ didn't have the right to know."

" Not even I know exactly how..But if I did, I _promise_ that I would tell you." She spoke with acuminate sincerity, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach upscaled quickly from annoyance, to irritation, and then even further, to anger.

" Is that _so_?? Because it seems that for the past sixteen years, you've been_ lying_ to me every day, haven't you?? And now, you decide to dump my whole _life_ on me, and tell me it's fake?! I can't believe I'm _related_, to someone so insidious, so _deceitful_, that they would keep their own grandchild's upbringing from them!!Even if you aren't my _parents_ doesn't mean you can_ fake_ me into anything!! That's not, what good grandparents, _do._ _Good_ grandparents, don't _lie_, okay? Do you think that in the past _SIX TEEN_ years, you could have found a spare moment to tell me, "Oh! Renesmee dear? I forgot to tell you. We're not your parents!" ?!? How could you _do_ this to me?!?"

I stood up, rage coursing through my veins, turning the room red.

The phone rang, and I spun on my heels to go get it, leaving a dumb-struck Renee gaping at the spot where a second ago, I had stood. I flew to the phone, catching it before the second ring had a chance to begin, and whipped it to my ear. I didn't care _who_ it was on the other end. Whoever it was, they were going to get it bad for calling, and even _existing_ for that matter.

"_What?_" I spat into the receiver.

"Renesmee....?" A low voice answered. "Is that you?"

It was a man. Sounded about age twenty at most, and very smooth, like his voice slid quickly over a sheet of velvet before entering my ears. I hated him before he had uttered a seventh syllable, much less another word. I was about to fling a heavy bout of insults a him, before stopping myself abruptly. I was being _rude_ to a completely innocent stranger, who probably just wanted to call and ask if Renee had gotten over a cold from two months ago or something. The fury evaporated ten times faster than it had arisen, and I found myself apologizing into the phone. For some reason, this voice was rather familiar, though I hadn't a clue who I was speaking to

"Yes it is. I'm terribly sorry for yelling, but it's just that I've just been told some very oppressing news, and–..Well, I suppose you're calling for my Moth– _Renee_" I corrected.. "I'll go and get her."

I dropped the phone in Renee's lap as I passed by the couch, and sprinted upstairs as fast as my legs would carry me. The evaporated anger condensed into a feeling so terrible it couldn't be described, and I was forced to face my ruined life up front. Nothing was for certain anymore, except for phone etiquette apparently.. And to think that before, my life had been okay enough for me to be thinking about broken radios. Now, nothing was okay. Nothing was left unscathed, undefiled, unmarred.. Now, all the 'un's' in life had disappeared, and I was left with a whole lot of abhorrently cruel adjectives. It was a very, _very_ long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Glamorous Kid-napping

My dreams were deep and dark, as though someone had dyed fog a debilitating shade of raven and let it loose in the night. Through the swirling mists I saw a tall hulking figure silhouetted faintly in the gloom. I stumbled towards the person, and as I grew nearer, found that it was not a person at all, but a monstrous russet wolf. It eyed me with familiarity, as though we'd known each other all our lives. If looks could speak, this one would say,

"Oh, hello; you're here. What took you so long?"

Without further notice, the ground began shifting, first to the left, next right, then left again. What an odd sort of earthquake this was. It didn't bother_ me,_ but I froze in my tracks standing perfectly still, poised to take action if the wolf panicked and attacked me. The ground stood still again, and I exhaled, though some sort of movement continued deep within the Earth. Somewhere in my inner conscious I knew I had to be dreaming, but a subtle feeling of speed kept grappling at common sense. I chose to ignore it and turned my attention back to the wolf.

The sheer size of the animal took me by intense surprise, at least twice as big as a good sized Canis Lupis, or Timber Wolf; if not bigger. Timber Wolfs' were recorded as the largest breed of wolf known to man. Only this creature was at least as large in stature as a horse, bigger even, and ten times as stocky. I stared at the thing a good time before it began to advance; I reached out tentatively hoping to make peace. The last thing I needed was a mutant Timber Wolf bent on my certain death. I felt as though I _should_ be afraid, but curiosity tugged at my heartstrings leaving little room for fear. Wait 'till Wellie heard about this one. Nahuel took a particular interest in heighty animals. He had a pet panther back home named Xian. But the air shivered, and the wolf blurred almost completely out of sight, transforming into–

_BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP, BEEP_ _BEEP_

My alarm clock went off, piercing through the last remnants of my dream. I groaned and sat up groggily; dream pervaded. I had no idea what would've happened with the mysterious beast and it bothered me. I knew something very important was escaping me; a piece of vital information, straining at the threads of consciousness where dreams and reality separated... But as hard as I tried, I couldn't remember a thing more than mini-earthquakes and Canis Lupis. After a silent, strenuous minute, I thwacked myself in the side of the head annoyed, given up.

"Damn it Renesmee, It was a wolf, not the meaning of life." I grumbled, reaching to put my head right with my water glass.

What my hand encountered was definitely _not _a water glass. Once my index finger grazed the tangles of stringy fabric, I knew I was not in my own room. My breath caught, sucked back into my head to aid a freshly panicked brain. Lace. My entire body had frozen in shock, finger still half grasping the foreign cloth. Renee was deathly allergic to lace, since it gathered dust with vengeance and clogged her sinuses for days at a time. Whenever I was with Renee we didn't even go _near _antique shops, for fear we would come across any stray dust motes floating about. There was no way any sort of lace product would be found in the house. So...where the hell _was_ I?

Thousands of possibilities disproved themselves until I'd settled on the last. I must've been kid-napped. Kid-napped, or sold off. I'd attended countless school assemblies warning to keep away from strangers, because not all people were in correct state of mind and whatnot. There was one boy Emmett Cullen a few years back. The assembly people told us he got dragged off my a psychotic blonde woman and was never to be seen again.

Charlie and Renee weren't my parents, I knew _that_. The information had been with me even in the essence of my dreaming. I was a freak after all, wasn't I? They could've had enough of me, shipped me off to some circus or other, and called it a day. It could've happened I confirmed, but highly unlikely. Renee might have the guts to trade her kid away, but it went against all Charlie had ever known. He definitely wouldn't let her do something that illegal. So it was true. I'd been kid-napped. I still had no clue as to why or when during my mystic slumber, but I knew what'd taken place. Suddenly it made sense. The shifting left and right must've been my capturers carrying me off, and the speed, the getaway car. Crap. I did _so_ not need that right then.

With a resentful sigh, I finally looked up.

I sat in a huge bed, lace canopies cascading down in white plicatures, from ceiling down to iron wrought bed posts, and eventually settling delicately into complex folds on the cherry-wood floor. It was an expensive bed too. I could tell it was one of those posturopedic do-ups they always gushed about on the shopping channel. My rag-tag quilt covers, had transformed into a green silk duvet dotted with little yellow flowers. My favorite, oddly enough. The walls no longer light blue, now oozed a mellow shade of buttery sunshine. To match the sunflowers on the duvet, I imagined. Upon further notice I saw my books stacked neatly in rows along gleaming mahogany shelves. Why would my kid-nappers me take my books along too? It didn't make sense; unless they were thieves too.

Peeling back the covers and swung my legs around to stand up. I stepped gingerly across the room to the door, and opened it slowly so not to make any unnecessary noise. As I pushed back, I grimly realized that it was Dutch, and one half alone swung through.

"Man, that is _pointless_," I _pff_''d, and did a poor Barney impression. "Hey kids! Lets learn to kidnap! Step one; replace all your doors with Dutch frapp so it'll take 'em that much longer to escape!"

In any case, I crawled through the open half (bottom, obviously) into a well furnished living room. Contemporary craftsman was my guess at style. Antique armchairs paired with mod, glass coffee tables, fancy paintings; the works. Maybe I _hadn't_ been kid-napped...these people had taste too developed to bother accessorizing with the likes of me.

_Sooo...I guess I'll just..take the door._, I side-glanced awkwardly. Still wasn't sure wether or not the place was rigged.

Once outside, I immediately took a double take. There were trees. Lot's of them. Surrounding me entirely, no sign of a bridge or gap between The strange house I'd woken up in was conveniently located in the middle of a forest. What was I supposed to do then? Baffled as I was, practicality still remained for guidance.

"No sense in just standing here I guess," I told myself after a moment, approached the wood, and began pushing gingerly through the thick foliage. But I was stopped mid-push when something collided with me. _Whoosh_, I felt the air knocked out of me by it's sheer force. A band of elastic current buzzed at my ears, trying to find a way in. Whatever the thing was, it'd had some major velocity behind it. Enough to knock me flat on my back. It seemed my breath didn't want to catch up with me, and limbs refused to cooperate. Getting up wasn't an option, at least for now. It was then the leaves above me started white, along with the rest of my surroundings.

Everything went silent, the only thing to be heard, electric static. If I'd had the mind capacity, I would have thought I was going into a coma, or maybe dying. Going into the light and all that. The white quiet was abruptly penetrated by thousands of little images. In the distance someone murmured, _You can do it honey..Focus.._I vaguely remembered a telephone conversation. The murmur soon died out, and one of the images shot out with burgundy explosion, spreading out over each membrane like a movie screen. A little red-headed girl snuggled with her father, also of dully flaming locks. Next she sat before a roaring fire with her loving mother, admiring her porcelain complexion and gold eyes while poems were read aloud. Tennyson. Then again, in bed. _"There is sweet music here that softer falls..."_ She danced among snowflakes in winter Eire, the folds of her dress expanding as she twirled. Thousands and thousands of little synopses, each flowing quicker than the latter. Finally, the last one hit me, tinged with sorrow and repressed pain. The girl lay in bed, a beautiful woman smoothing hands over tense brow, getting at something. She pulled a clear strand of thread-like substance from the girls head and encircled it with a protective elastic covering that buzzed mutely in the light. She turned to the anxious faces of her parents. _"Your daughter has one of the purest minds I've ever seen Edward." _she smiled. _"With a conscience like that, I'm positive there wont be any trouble when you decide to give it back."_

It was then that I knew. I was Renesmee Carlie Cullen.Renesmee. Esme and Renee. Carlie. Charlie and Carlisle. Cullen. Edward and Bella Cullen. My parents. Renee and Charlie weren't my fosters, they were my Grandparents_. I_ was the little girl. My memories had been taken from me by a friend of Carlisle's when I was very young. Not to hurt, but to protect me. The Volturi were not convinced I could lead a normal life. The only was to ensure my survival was to give me away to a human family until I'd become "stable". Until I'd reached maturity. My grandparents would take care of me. They were the only ones who would be trusted. When my growth halted at 16 physical years, I'd been put on "parole" for another year; to make sure I didn't suddenly decide to go off and murder a human or two. It wasn't until last week Aro had gave my parents consent to take me back. Mother'd wanted to.........Mother.

Without fully realizing it, my eyes had snapped open, and I'd leapt to my feet. An aching need took my senses into hand. Mother. I hadn't caught sight of her for years. Her gentle face, still tucked away somewhere in my renewed memory, demanded my reproval. The grass at my stocking feet rustled in agreement, and an old oak tree sent it's birds twittering. In a flash I was running; the unbeaten path to my house was quite familiar now, and my legs needed no direction.

All around me, branches swayed and twigs snapped, announcing my arrival. Little animals scurried in the brush, my heavy footsteps sounding tiny alarms. _Patter-patter pit, patter-pit, splash!_ Went the soles of my feet, too hasty to avoid puddles. _Mother...mother..._ went my thoughts, too heady to control. I needed her cool embrace, her comforting touch; oh what if she'd forgotten me? I couldn't stand not seeing her a moment longer, and crashed all the more recklessly through the dripping ferns. The way ahead was lighter, the copse thinner; and! Was that the wet gurglings of a river nearby? I whizzed through the ends of the trees, slowing my pace when they parted to reveal a field of delicate grass stems. Ever more slowly, my eyes rose to take in the white splendor that was my home. I padded forward, the beginnings of a smile forming on my lips. And then I fell into the river.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Shit, I'm officially hallucinating. I hope 's got a few extra straight jackets lying about, because I gotta be insane.

_Jacob's P.O.V:_

Sam's ears twitched suspiciously, and I looked over at the black beast inquiringly. We were on patrol, and I hadn't heard or smelt anything particularly suspicious in a long while..Without notice he stopped dead in his tracks. He just stood there frozen stiff. After a while, my detachment wore off and I had to pretend I cared what was going on.

_Sam?_ I nudged his shoulder . No response.

_Hello? Sam?_ I shoved at his blade a little more forcefully. Irritation was starting to break through my minds; force field of inertia, and I didn't like it. I shoved the troublesome emotion back into the recesses of my mind. Better. When I still didn't receive any kind of recognition, I just sat back on my haunches and waited for him to wake up. Probably thought he smelled Emily baking a pie or something. Man, sometimes I wondered if he really married her because of the imprinting thing. Damn it, wondering was bad. It meant I was taking interest.

_Shut up._ Sam's attention snapped back into focus. _If you would just_ listen_, you'd know why I was ignoring you._

_Yeah, yeah._ I dismissed him. It probably _was_ Emily. Just my luck, I'd have Sam slobbering all over me about his preggo wife. In my opinion, her protrusive stomach should've lessened the furious attraction he fathomed for her, but no . Apparently, six feet bellies were the new fishnet stockings. Even so, I obediently peeled my ears for the source of sound that'd distracted my friend.

There was an odd sort of splashing noise in the distance, coming from the direction of the river me and Nessie used to race leafs in. My mind spasmodically raced back to five years ago, when my reason for living and I plucked the leaves off oak trees and had the time of our lives watching them speed along down the clear stream . She would always look up at me after my leaf won, (S'all in the shape dynamics) an expression of sheer disappointment clouding her mocha eyes briefly. She'd let it pass though, and the chocolate orbs narrowed with determination. Then she'd tell me, "Next time, I'm gonna beat you so bad, you'll need_ Sacagawea_ to guide you back to a place where you aren't mocked."

Her pretty little mouth would twist up in a blinding smile, and I'd agree wholeheartedly to whatever the hell she said.

After the flashback ended I cursed myself for not having better control. _Damn_, it sucked so bad not seeing her. But I knew keeping away for now was best for her, so I didn't let the maddening urge to call up Charlie get the best of me. Actually, it was the _only_ reason I kept elusive, in the background. If Aro had just let our triumph over his little army six years ago _go_, none of us would be in this mess. A few weeks after Ness got hauled off, I cut the constant flow of pain searing through my head 24/7, and replaced it with dead nothingness. I hear it's better to hurt than not to feel anything at all, but that's just bullshit. Ignorance is bliss, right? Yeah, I pretty much agreed with that, but ut still kind-of sucked ass.

Alice, being her overly helpful self, took advantage of my deadened state and started dressing me in faded jeans and tight fitting T-shirts sporting blatantly indie designs A lot of stuff from Zumiez and Soho, I observed once when she forced the neck over my head. On one of my particularly dazed days, she even went as far as to cut my hair so it sliced diagonally across my forehead and angled down towards the back of my neck. She put some weird shit in it too, that made it all soft and fluttery. The in-stability almost bothered me, had I not stowed it away properly before I could feel anything. I looked like a total punk, maybe even Emo. But whatever; if it kept the pixie chick from joining me in habitual misery, I'd let her screw around with my appearance. I didn't really care what people thought of me anymore. I tried to keep a positive front up for Bells and Sam though, who sometimes took offense to my un-purposed disinterest in everything.

In any case, my ears pricked once more at the small coughing and sputtering fracas rolling in from the river. I thought I heard something smack at the water's surface. Limbs flailing about, judging from the stirred air and _whack _of bare skin against ice water. The commotion slowly drifted closer, but stopped when an...arm?, Found purchase on dry land. The light thud of a torso followed suit. Next came the legs swinging round and plopping down beneath the convulsing upper body. Silence followed, broken only by the wheezy pant of a human, and steady dripping.

_Huh. _I surmised, bored again when the pandemonium of struggle relinquished. _Guess some hiker fell in the river. Wonder what they were doing at the Cullens'._ But I didn't wonder; not really. It was hard to wonder when you didn't actually care.

_Dude..You know what today is, right?_ Sam raised an eyebrow at me in disbelief.

I racked my mind for the date, but came up empty handed. I'd lost track of time a long time ago. Did it really matter when all I'd ever want was off limits, just a few miles away? My chest started to ache. Fuck. Sam exuded flickers of sympathy towards my pain, but I waved them off, embarrassed I'd let it show I still hurt.

_Whatever. What day is it then?_

_Man, you're so messed up..._ The pity was back again. I faked indifference, but my chest starting acting up again and my heart beat jaggedly. Giving me away again. _It's April 7__th__ dude. It all ends today! _Pity transgressed into happiness..for me. What the hell was he talking about? I hated it when Sam made me put out emotions like confusion. It made it a helluva lot harder to keep my thoughts conveniently numb. Thank _God_ he and Bella were the only two capable of making me feel. And lately I'd been losing my receptance to even them. Something I prided myself on.

_Jacob. It's been exactly six years. Remember? Five to reach full maturity, and one for stability..? C'mon, wake up for a second here. I know you don't like to make facial expressions, but I think what just came out of that river is really gonna make you smile._

Then it finally clicked. 

_HOLY SHIT!!!_ _HOLY FUCKING SHIT._

Hey everyone! Just typed this up. Took me half an hour to write it and then edit, so it's really short, but I didn't want to make you wait by making it longer. Sorry for the crappy chapter!! Q.Q I hope it doesn't make your eyes bleed as much as it makes mine. I live for your awesome reviews, so hammer out a line or two if you will. Thankies!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Stranger

_Renesmee's POV_

I'm not going to bother you with a bunch of mushy details, but basically, after I hauled myself out of the stream, I slowly made my way to the house. God, it feels strange saying that after all these years. Dad was restraining Mom at the door, but in a loving way? I don't think in all my newly regained memory I've seen him anything but loving with Mom. Of course not. Mom's a loveable person in every aspect of the word.. Anyhow, once I was half way up the steps the door burst open and she was hugging me. I thought for sure my eyes would have popped out, and my lungs were slowly being crushed, but I ignored the thoughts of potential asphyxiation.

Mom started making these small noises like she was crying, and whispered through ragged breaths, "Renesmee, I love you.".I can truthfully say that was one of the happiest moments of my life. I couldn't believe my life and family had been given back to me (In a sense; they'd still existed while I was deluded), and at the same time I was stopped up with conviction that I was _back_, that my heart could once again be full. It's true what they say; that you don't fully notice what you've got until it's gone. Only in my case I never really knew what I had until it'd been returned.

It took me a second to realize that Mom's embrace had been multiplied by seven. My entire family swallowed me in choruses of "I'm so glad you're back" and "It's truly been a house of the living dead while you've been away" and "It's gonna be awesome with you here to protect me from Rose. Haha! Kidding!".

The real climax was when everyone cleared away to smile at me. That's when Dad cleared his throat and said. "Renesmee.." I recognized his velvet voice from anywhere. A quiet phone conversation came to mind. "Welcome home." That got _everyone_ a bit invisible-teary eyed. Of course, my own tears streamed freely down my cheeks. "Thank you." I said, too emotional to think of a better reply. I guess that was all anyone needed because soon I was being crushed again, and then ushered inside to towel off and change.

Grandpa Carlisle nearly had a fit when he took my measurements (An old tradition from when I was still growing.), and found I weighed "only" 100 pounds at a height of 5'7. I'd thought that was normal. Yeah, I'd always been a bit skinny but still didn't take much heart to gaining weight. I still could; gain weight that is. (My thighs are like toothpicks. And not in the attractive way.) But food is pretty much disgusting in every way, so I kept content with a glass of water (tasteless, but drinkable), and a banana (Completely grody, but easier to force down than foods with more substance). Jeesh, _that_ sounded anorexic, but trust me, if any of this stuff tasted better (Yeah, right) then I'd be scarfing it down like a...Like a blood sundae? Do they even have those? Probably not. Hahaha or a bloody Mary...I know a girl named Mary, hehe...Right. Not funny.

A lot of family bonding and reminiscing followed and everything was howdy-doody until a knock at the door sent Esme scurrying. There was a brief exchange of words and then Esme followed some guy into the den where we sat. I looked at him. He looked at me. It was a girl scout moment. Y'know that bear song where they talk about some person staring at a bear? Probably not. Too bad. The human race could do with some knowledge of GS camp songs and blood sundaes. But that's getting off topic. Well Hot Topic is a popular store, so there. Um, does that count as a comeback? Take that, self! Ha! Okay, im cuckoo. Like I was saying..

The kid was tall, and I mean _really_ tall. Like, 6'4. I had a measuring device in my mind, but didn't remember where I'd learned it. Weird. Handy. Dandy. Handy Dandy notebook? Yes! Huzzah! Anyway.

If this were PE, I'd definitely want him on my basketball team. He had this kid in a candy store look. As my eyes made their way down, I noticed his red Nikes. No way! Those were totally my errand shoes! Grandpa Charlie (If you're wondering, by this point I'd forgiven him for keeping me in the shadows about my real parents and stuff. S'all cool.) Had gotten them for me on my air quote _fourteenth _air quote birthday. All in all not much to note. Just a really tall muscle-y (Oh yeah, did I mention that? He looked uber strong. I'm jealous!) Happy Candy kid with cool shoes. And a big smile. That kind-of faded out when I didn't say anything in the first 15 seconds.

If I were the kind of moron who announced awkward silences, I woulda been_ all _over this. But I'm_ not_, so I decided to make better use of my breath and say something. Notice the emphasis on the _not_. That means I hatehatehate it when people do that. It's like an awkwardness magnifying multiplier. Muglifier? Sure. Well no matter how mugly things were, announcing it made it muglier.

"Um..Hi. My name's Renesmee, I guess you might not know that since I just got back from uh..vacation? Boarding school. Yeah, boarding school, and if you're wondering why I'm here, maybe my parents haven't told you about me. 'Cuz I guess until a little while ago I was supposed to be a secret, but it's nothing weird. Unless you already know about everything, but i'm assuming you don't just because supposedly you're supposed to do that when you meet strangers. But you're not a stranger anymore really since we just met. What's your name again?" Way to ramble on Ness. Way to ramble _on. _Emmet probably found my ramblenessing hilarious. It was a while until I realized he wasn't guffawing..

I looked around. No one was laughing, or smiling, or properly introducing me to this boy. I couldn't contain myself, the awkwardness was killing me. I had to let it out. Forgive me please, I felt bad enough saying it aloud! Aghh I hatahatehate myself. Triple hate? Hate x3? Too _naffy_ (British for uncool and out of style. Example: "Katy's such a naff." Oooh I wish I were British..) ..Triple hate on the affirmative. "Soo...this is awkward..." SORRY!

Dad finally spoke, " Renesmee, what are you talking about?"

He sounded shocked. What _was_ I talking about? I was talking about the weird silence, actually. What was wrong with that?

"It got all quiet..Sorry, I hate it when people say stuff like 'this is awkward'. But I didn't know what to say, so it just kind-of came out." I sounded like an ad for laxatives. Haha. Laxatives...Funny word. Oops. I disguised my budding laugh as a cough. Didn't want to look any stupider than I already did.

He spoke in a stern tone. Everyone else was still shell-shocked, " Renesmee, don't ignore your friend. Seth is your.. What do they call it now? BFF."

"What are you talking about? Who's Seth?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Renesmee–" Stern turned annoyed. But Grandpa shushed him, appearing at my side. He muttered something like "The strands. They've- blahsimuddleflsaiahsadaboih"

Well obviously he didn't say " Blahsimuddleflsaiahsadaboih", but he said that last bit really fast and I had no clue what he was talking about anyway. Great. I came home content for once, and now I was all confused again. I figured Seth was the SmileCandyBoy. Actually, I thought they made yellow smiley face gum balls in Germany. Tres cool but still grody. Gum has the most disgusting texture. Ever. Aside from meatballs. He looked confused. And disbelieving and hurt. What had I said _now_? German Gum's smile quickly turned American LemonHead.

Yesterday was so weird. Of course living in the cottage again, being re-introduced to my family, and possessing my right mind again, makes me happy, but something feels off. Like someone who's gotten a perm to look scene. Dad and Grandpa went in the Main House clattering about with test tubes and shooing me out when I tried to ask what was going on. Being shut out is tres stinky.

What a welcoming family. Auntie Alice tried playing dress up with me like before. I told her clothes were the least of my worries. It's pointless trying to get anything out of the mad scientists over where-where I'm _not_ obviously. I don't like repeating myself. You meanies. That's it. I'm tired of thinking about LemonHead Boy. I'm tired of not being with my family. I'm tired of being told what to do, what to wear (Alice), and quite frankly, who to know (LemonHead).

That was _it_. I was going to find out whatever Blahsimuddleflsaiahsadaboih was about, once and for all. No more "Let us take care of it, why don't you go play with Alice" , or "Not now Renesmee." Yes _now. _I made my way to the house, minding the stream this time, and flung open the front door. Auntie Rose and Uncle Em looked at me peculiarly, but shrugged it off and went back to making out slash watching football. Yucko. Tres, tres mugly and naff. But the show must go on! I marched up the stairs and down the hall into the roo– _WHAMMO!_ My face collided with the newly locked door with gusto. Apparently, the two Eiensteins had locked me out, probably when Dad me saw me on my way over. Well Darn, that was badly timed. Oh but wait! I could hear faint strains of a telephone conversation at the other side. I knew they knew I knew that they knew I was there, but still pressed my ear to the door. The sound was muffled, but I could still hear fairly well. Finally, my vampiric genes were being put to good use. Hehehe...This is what I heard :

Grandpa: "Yes, thank you so much. If there's ever anything we could do...No, only half...Yes that's right...No, she had no idea who he was...Yes. Mhmm..."

Dad: "What do you think is going on?...Well there _is_ a bit of excess on the sides...No. Yes. Alright. We'll see you soon...What? Oh. *chuckle* Sorry, she's listening at the door..Of course. We'll be here...Yep.

Grandpa: Thanks so much Anne. Until Wednesday...Thank you. Bye now.

Well, _that _was certainly a revealing and un-secretive conversation. _Not. _What on Earth had they been going on about? Excess? Only half? I was about to go downstairs to ask Grandma what was happening on Wednesday, but the door opened and I promptly stumbled-fell into the room.

"There now you little spy," Dad said with laughy eyes. "Are you happy?"

I quickly resumed an upright position. Plane tray-table style. Because those stewardesses are annoying. "Not at all. You were very vague. Now if you would be so kind, could you please explain to me what exactly is going on. And who's _Anne_?"

The laughy eyes went flat. "We're not entirely sure yet what's going on."

I stuck out my lip "No fair, I just got back and no one's being nice to meee."

"Ness, you know I can see into you head."

"Yeah, and ?"

" And I can tell when you're dramatizing things for effect."

Drat. " Oh."

"Yes. If you really want to know, you're..." he started slowly.

"I'm _what_?" Tell me, now!

"Well it seems when your memory was restored, half of the neuronic memory strands also found in parts of your DNA has been overwritten by memories from living with Charlie and Renee. Thus, causing parts of these strands to be buried by more recent strand molecules formed by the overwritten ones." His mouth ran.

"Uh...How do you even know all that?" Pff. My strandulars were just fine. Silly Einstiens.

He dangled a thread of my hair from where he stood. "Like I said. Your DNA lets us observe nearly everything to do with storage.

Well...Damn. Right when I think everything is back to normal, the Einsteins tell me I've got some funny brain strands in my DNA. What could possibly be worse than–

"BLAM!"

Everyone whipped around as a great bang came from the living room.

"What in the sane heck is going on?" I cried and ran to the door. There was a shout and I heard Rosalie say "_That_, is for getting food in my hair. Mutt."

Daddy pinched the bridge of his nose all frustrating. "That damn dog.."

What damn dog? "Daddyyy!" I whined, tugging on his sleeve. "We have a dog?"

"No," he sighed, "and we're keeping it that way." with that, he strode downstairs, and I never even got to see the dog. I like dogs. Croqants and merde, this has been the strangest day of my life. And that is saying something.


End file.
